The Past is the Past
by MikiDTea
Summary: Gibbs disappears and it's up to the team to save him.
1. Prologue

**Co-written with sarajen93.**

**Thanks to BritMum for the beta.**

**As much as we'd love to, neither sara nor myself own the brilliance that is NCIS.**

**

* * *

**

**Prologue:**

**Date: February 29, 1991…or is it?**

_There were three of them: Jethro, Shannon and Kelly Gibbs. One man. One woman. One girl. A father. A wife. A daughter. A family. Shannon and Kelly were the only things in his life that Jethro was actually proud of; that had actually gone right. Until September 29, 1991. 12 years ago, some dirt bag had played "God" and had taken away everything he lived for; had taken away Shannon and Kelly. He avenged their deaths by putting a bullet into the forehead of their killer. He thought it would make him feel better, but he still longed to see Kelly and Shannon just once more. To tell his little girl and his other half how much he loved them and missed them. To set Kelly on his lap and talk about her day at school. To have one night with Shannon to show her how much he loved her. But he would never get that chance…_


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

"Come on, Tony. Put the movie in!" the brunette woman said impatiently.

"Geez, just give me a second, Kate! This stupid thing's having problems again." Tony DiNozzo hit the machine, hoping a little tap would fix the problem. "McNerd probably screwed it up on purpose to get back at me for putting hand sanitizer in his coffee."

"I wouldn't blame him. After all those pranks you pull on him, I'm surprised he doesn't do something more tragic than messing with your DVD player."

"Well, Katie, he just takes it so well, ya know?" McGee was destined for the cruel remarks and practical jokes anyway. After all, he was the 'Probie'.

"Well, maybe if you could be nice to McGee once in a while, Gibbs would stop slapping you. You're always complaining about people giving you a hard time, when in fact, you usually deserve it." Kate Todd could not get over the fact that her boss actually slapped his team members on the back of the head as a 'wakeup call'. The Director himself did not even blink an eye when he saw a 'Gibbs slap' being given, and Kate giggled at the thought of Gibbs attempting to give the Director a slap. She had somehow avoided receiving any Gibbs slaps, much to the chagrin of her team members.

"Look, Kate, I'm kinda busy. Why don't you go pop some popcorn or something. Make yourself useful."

"Make yourself useful…" Kate mimicked Tony. She stood up from the couch and disappeared into the kitchen. Kate felt at home in the kitchen. She loved cooking, especially baking, and she was always bringing goodies to work for the team, who just gushed over them.

Without even thinking about it, Kate opened a cabinet and pulled out the popcorn. Kate knew exactly where everything was placed. She had helped Tony organize his apartment, after all. But she still had to come in every once in a while to make sure everything was still in order, as Tony was likely to leave empty boxes in the pantry and old, unrecognizable liquids in the fridge. Kate shuddered at the thought of finding the expired apple juice earlier that evening. At least, she thought it was apple juice. She stopped for a second, _why do I feel the need to come in here and reorganize his things? It's not like we live together or are in a relationship._ Kate shook her head as if to shake away the thought, and went about her business.

Back in the living room, Tony was dialing Abby's number. She answered after the third ring. "Abs, I need some help with my DVD player." Tony knew he could trust Abby to fix his favorite piece of equipment. She understood his need for a James Bond fix after the long hours at work. "Oh, the one McGee was working on yesterday? Hold on, he's right here…" Silence ensued. "McGoo? You there? Elf Lord? If you don't answer, I'm gonna come over there and bolt your dead body into that coffin!" Tony just knew that would scare McGee into helping him. "Uh, look, Tony, I'm kinda busy right now, so I can't help you. See ya tomorrow!" The line went dead. Tony could not believe that McGee had hung up on him! _The gall!_

Back to where he started, Tony decided to skip the movie and see what Kate wanted to do.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Timothy McGee put his arms around Abby Scuito. "Look, Abs, it's ok, really. It's not a big deal!"

"Yes it is, Tim! I totally forgot about your book signing this weekend! And I made plans with the nuns that I can't cancel! I'm such a dork!" Abby couldn't believe she had forgotten something so important to McGee.

"Yes, you are a dork, but you are my dork." Tim lifted Abby's chin with his index finger & looked into her eyes. He could tell how upset she was because the sparkle in her eyes had disappeared.

Abby's heart melted. She loved it when Tim said sweet things like that. She had never dated a man who genuinely cared about her feelings before, much less freely admitted his feelings too. _Please kiss me, Tim. _Abby begged in her mind_. Please!_

As if on cue, Tim took Abby's head in his hands, & while running his fingers through her jet black hair, pulled her into the sweetest, gentlest kiss she had ever received. It was such an innocent kiss, Abby wasn't even sure if it had really happened. She was about to pull him closer when the phone rang.

It was Tony. He needed help with his DVD player Tim had been working on the day before. Abby handed the phone to Tim, who was waving his hands & mouthing that he didn't want to talk to Tony. Abby knew what Tim had done, but was playing dumb because she thought it was funny how Tim had finally gotten the guts to prank Tony. She had warned Tim that he'd never get away with messing with DiNozzo, but being in the heat of the moment after Tony had poured hand sanitizer in his coffee, Tim couldn't be stopped.

Tim found the perfect opportunity for payback when Tony had whined about his DVD player not working. Tim knew Tony couldn't live without it & that it would drive him crazy not being able to watch an episode of "Magnum."

On the other end of the phone, Tony was threatening Tim, but Tim did not want to argue with Tony. Frankly, he just wanted to hang up on Tony. So he did it; Tim hung up the phone on Tony! Tim felt triumphant, and it showed on his face.

Abby tried to fight back the fit of laughter that was building inside of her, but she just couldn't do it. She laughed so hard that tears came out of her eyes.

Tim didn't understand why she was laughing. _But gosh does she look cute doing it!_ "What are you laughing at, Abby?"

Abby starting giggling softly. "Tim! The face you made when you hung up on Tony! The way you lifted your chin & got a sparkle in your eyes…"

"Ok, Abs, I get it. Laugh all you want to as I'm sure Tony is thinking of a way to get back at me right this minute." Tim couldn't believe he had just hung up on Tony DiNozzo. It was like giving Tony the right to make fun of him forever.

"Oh, Tim, forget about Tony for tonight. Let tonight be about us." And with that, Abby stretched out her arms & gave Tim a bear hug.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Kate walked into the room with the refreshments, a worried look appearing on her face when she saw Tony sitting on the couch with his arms crossed across his chest, pouting. "What happened?"

"Aqua Smurf thought it would be funny to hang up on me when I called him to ask for help. I give up Kate. Forget the movie. You got anything else you wanna do?" All Tony could think about was getting back at McGee for being such a jerk.

"I know what you're thinking Tony, but McGee wouldn't act like this if you'd just stop bugging him. But anyway, I'm up for anything." Kate sat down next to Tony, shrugging her shoulders and waiting for a reply. Tony just sat there, and by the look on his face, Kate could tell that something was up. "Are you feeling okay, Tony?"

Tony didn't know if he could tell her the truth, but he knew he should. "I'm just thinking that you're right about McGee. Maybe I have been a little harsh." Tony lied. He couldn't tell her what he was going through. How she made him feel. How his emotions ran wild every time she said his name, walked by his desk at work, made fun of his movie quoting. He was too manly for such romantics, but when it came to her, everything he knew went out the window.

Kate could tell he was lying, but decided not to push, knowing that Tony would just shut her out. Her own mind started wandering. _Gosh, that suit he wore today. Mm-hmm. _She especially loved the way the suit looked against his tan skin, the way it fit his body perfectly. But she would never tell him any of this. How could she be thinking about Tony like this?! He was like an annoying little brother, going on and on about movies, women, men's fashion and sports. He thrived on playing immature pranks on her and McGee and irritating them to no end. Now she was finding herself attracted to him?

Tony realized that he and Kate had been sitting on the couch in awkward silence for too long. "Look, Kate, we can just see if anything is coming on. You know, I think I heard something about a Tom Crui…" He then got cut off by ringing of his cell phone. He glanced at the front screen, which said "Gibbs" in plain black lettering, and made an annoyed face.

Kate saw his face scrunch up in annoyance, and started to say something, but decided against it. _It could be an ex-girlfriend, his mom…_but then she realized he was looking at his government authorized cell, not his personal. _Must be McGee trying to prank him or something. He'll probably pretend to be the Secretary of the Navy._

Tony flipped open the phone, put it to his ear, and said, "Hey, Boss. What's up?"

_Gibbs? At 2 in the morning? Dear, Lord. _Kate knew this couldn't be good.

Tony looked concerned. "Gibbs? Are you ok? Where are you? Gibbs? GIBBS!" The line went dead. Tony was beginning to panic because Gibbs hadn't sounded like himself. Something was wrong and Tony was determined to find out. "Come on, Kate, let's go."

"Where are we going, Tony?" Kate was worried. "Should I call for help?"

"We are help, Kate." Tony quietly answered.

_What is that supposed to mean?_ Kate didn't understand what Tony meant. _Maybe he's just trying to be dramatic._

As if he were reading her thoughts, Tony said, "Look, Kate, Gibbs is in trouble. All I got out of him was that he was at his house. It sounded like he had been drinking. You know how he likes his bourbon. Or maybe he was drugged. His words were slurred and his cell reception was crappy, I just don't know." Tony was frustrated with himself. After his ordeal with McGee and the DVD player, Tony didn't know if he was up to dealing with Gibbs, especially if he had been drinking.

The entire ride to Gibbs' house was in silence. Tony didn't even turn on the radio. Both agents were stressed out about what could possibly be happening to Gibbs that they couldn't think of anything else. Kate was running every possible situation through her mind: _Was it the Petty Officer we wrongly accused last month? A ticked off agent? An ex-wife?_

Like Kate, Tony could only think of the horrible things being done to his boss. _Maybe it was just Fornell playing some prank on Gibbs. Maybe he's just really drunk. God, I hope he's ok. _Tony loved his boss. He looked up to him and had even unconsciously learned some of Gibbs' mannerisms. He had been with Gibbs for a few years now, but still learned something new about him every day. Granted, there was still a lot he didn't know, but he was glad Gibbs gave him little insights into his past.

Little did he know that he was about to learn the biggest secret about Gibbs.


End file.
